I used to write on Wednesdays. It was my day to focus and make progress moving my story forward.

That was years ago—my Mom was still alive. She was only a phone call away to answer questions. But not anymore. I have floundered not knowing how to write the second half of my maternal grandmother’s story without my Mom who inspired me to tell it.

But this past Sunday, our pastor preached from Joshua, and it confirmed what I had been sensing for 2026 already. The title of the message?

Now Therefore Arise

He started by saying, “God’s promises aren’t fragile.”

The desire to write my grandmother’s story began in 1989. I didn’t know anything about writing, but God impressed on me to start journaling. It was with this practice that I honed the craft.

I was also homeschooling our three children. God was supplying a refresher course on how to write well with elementary English, Grammar and Literature before me daily.

In 2000 my Mom and I took our first of 3 trips to Oklahoma. She was our family historian and poured over our genealogical records before Ancestry or DNA was a thing. Files and files of facts about our history filled her home.

That book, Through the Eyes of Grace, was published in September of 2012. My Mom received the first copy and she loved it! That was the best pay day for me!

I was excited to begin the second book. We both started doing research but it wasn’t to be…

In December 2012 the Lord called my Mom home. I was devastated, but happy for her. How could I write without her help? Every time I tried, my heart would sink; so I didn’t.

I learned with the first book that God is in the delays, so I could trust Him.

I tell you this because it’s true—God’s promises aren’t fragile:

“…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 ESV

I have a word from God to tell my grandmother’s story. And today I will begin writing part 2.

I’ll close with this final thought from Sunday’s message:

“Many of us live life ending in a period (.). There is a finality with each chapter. But God always uses a semi-colon, which looks like a period above a comma (;). What has ended is real (my Mom died), but God is not finished. Keep going forward. Obedience grows when we trust in the fertile soil of God’s promises. Act like people who believe in Him!” – Chris Jesse, Metro Life Church, Casselberry, FL